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Roger Bresnahan
Roger Philip Bresnahan (June 11, 1879 – December 4, 1944), nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee" for his Irish roots,Have you heard of this Player; Nicknames and 18 from the Sporting News was an American player in Major League Baseball who starred primarily as a catcher and a player-manager. He introduced the use of the catcher's shin guard in 1907Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978). The Great American Baseball Scrapbook, p. 36. Random House. ISBN 0-394-50253-1. and was selected in 1945 to the Baseball Hall of Fame. During his career and for most of his life he claimed to have been born in Tralee, Ireland but admitted the truth (Toledo, Ohio) later in life. Born in Toledo, Ohio, he began his major league career as a pitcher, throwing a six-hit shutout on August 27, 1897. However, he eventually moved to catcher (although he could play all nine positions), and was labeled one of the best at that position by managers John McGraw and Branch Rickey. Despite taunts by other players, he experimented with head and thigh protection gear which had been introduced by some college teams, which included the first MLB batting helmet, and this led to the widespread use of more protection for catchers in the early 20th century. Bresnahan played for the Washington Senators (1897), Chicago Orphans/Cubs (1900, 1913-15), Baltimore Orioles (1901-02), New York Giants (1902-08), St. Louis Cardinals (1909-12), and the Cubs again (1913-1915). In 1430 games, he had a batting average of .279 in 4480 at-bats. His historic role is unquestioned, but his Hall of Fame credentials have been questioned since he caught 100 or more games in a season only once (in 1908). Bresnahan had managed the Cardinals while playing for them, and the Cubs in 1915. His overall record was 328-432. Bresnahan died of a heart attack at his home in Toledo at age 65, and was elected to the Hall of Fame the following year; decades later, Sabermetrician Bill James said it was an honor that Bresnahan did not deserve.Bill James Answers All Your Baseball Questions, an April 2008 entry from the Freakonomics blog Bresnahan was buried in Calvary (Roman Catholic) Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio. 1911 train wreck On July 11, 1911, with the Cards only three games out of first place in early July, the team was involved in a train wreck while riding the ''Federal Express'' from Philadelphia to Boston.Tuesday, July 11th from BaseballLibrary.com Fourteen passengers were killed after the train derailed and plunged down an embankment outside Bridgeport, Connecticut. None of the Cardinals were seriously injured, due to a fortuitous pre-trip change in the location of their Pullman car that Bresnahan had requested. The Cardinals helped remove bodies and rescue the injured. Despite posting their first winning season since 1901, the Cardinals never recovered from the incident, finishing a distant fifth. Commemorations Bresnahan was mentioned in the poem "Lineup for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash: }} References External links * * * * The Deadball Era Category:1879 births Category:1944 deaths Category:1905 New York Giants World Series Championship Team Category:American Roman Catholics Category:Baltimore Orioles (1901-02) players Category:Hall of Fame Category:Player-managers Category:Chicago Cubs managers Category:Chicago Cubs players Category:Chicago Orphans players Category:Irish-Americans Category:Irish-American sportspeople Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Major League Baseball players from Ohio Category:New York Giants baseball players Category:People from Toledo, Ohio Category:St. Louis Cardinals managers Category:St. Louis Cardinals players Category:Washington Senators (NL) players Category:Managers Category:Players